May 2, 2019
Worldbuilding in Fiction: a Guide
Today’s article is a result of a conversation I had with Francis Mont, author of House Arrest. We were talking about worldbuilding in fiction. Particularly, we were talking about the challenges involved in creating an imaginary setting for your science fiction novel.
And so, I decided to write this short guide to worldbuilding. If you’re a science-fiction, fantasy, and perhaps horror-fiction author, this post will interest you.
Interestingly enough, preparing this post required me to ponder on worldbuilding in fiction myself. As a literary-fiction author, I never really had to think about how to worldbuild. So, writing this post made for an interesting exercise.
Worldbuilding in Fiction: Architecture and Physics versus Culture and Society
Worldbuilding is about creating a setting; so far so good. The aspect we should try to ponder on is whether this setting is one the author approaches from a materialistic or from an idealistic perspective.
In simpler words, when we talk about worldbuilding, do we refer to how the world of the novel is constructed or to how its inhabitants behave and operate?
Of course, to an extent the answer is “both”. I think, however, that most authors focus excessively much on aspects of materialism. That is to say, based on my observations and discussions I have participated in, most science-fiction or fantasy authors place emphasis on how their world is constructed.
Materialistic Worldbuilding
This is necessary, without a doubt. Is the planet/magic realm one where buildings are made of clay, or of brick? Is electricity available? Has the Pythagorean theorem been discovered? Heck, is it still a² = b² + c²? Maybe in that world math and physics are differentIf you're writing science fiction, they really can't be different. That's the whole point of science fiction. If we're talking about fantasy, things are a bit more fluid. Still, the author better be well prepared to explain why in the world of her/his novel a triangle might have...four sides!.
The problem is, many authors (and especially the overwhelming majority of those preoccupied with the materialistic aspect of worldbuilding) seem to ignore something far, far more important. The socio-cultural implications of this changed world.
Idealistic Worldbuilding
Let’s assume you, the author, have spent a lot of time designing the world of your science-fiction or fantasy novel. Good job! You’ve figured out whether people travel with supersonic trains or mule-drawn carts. You have also decided whether rain falls from the sky or toward it. In other words, you have decided about such things as architecture and physics.
What about philosophy, though?
One major mistake I see in many fantasy and science-fiction works is an anthropocentricAnthropocentrism interprets or regards the world in terms of human values and experiences. approach to worldbuilding. If you have worked hard to create a world that is very different from ours, is it not odd to expect the same old patterns of behavior, psychology, and evolutionary habits?
A Matter of Possibility Branching
If you aren’t familiar with Conway’s Game of Life, I suggest you take a look at it. In a nutshell, it’s a cellular automaton simulation where, with no user input, a very simple initial condition can produce incredibly complex states.
In the context of how to worldbuild, it’s a good reminder of how wildly possibilities can branch. A single differing element can create a world that, on a long enough timescale, can vary greatly from another.
Let’s use a concrete example. Let’s assume that in the world of your fantasy novel the only difference compared to ours is that rain is scented. It can smell like roses, the sea, oranges, or anything else. The pattern could be random, or it could depend on something.
How do you think this would affect:
- art
- language
- human interaction
- outdoor activities (from camping and hiking to… warfare)
You, the author, better be ready to address these issues. One great example I encountered some time ago was Davyne DeSye’s Carapace. It’s a science-fiction novel describing an alien race having invaded Earth. If you think that has been done to death, you might be right. But DeSye’s novel is brilliant in its depiction of the alien beings, describing with uncanny realism their peculiarities of language, thought, and how their physical reality influences their behavioral pattern.
Tips on Worldbuilding in Fiction
A rather notorious, certainly controversial linguistic hypothesis is that of linguistic relativity. You might have heard it as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. It basically states that your native language determines how you think (or at the very least influences it). The repercussions are peculiar.
For example, it would mean that if you’re, say, a native speaker of Greek (where nouns are gendered), you learn to think of the sea as “she/her”, or competition as “he/his”.
Environments Influence Thought Patterns
How is that related to worldbuilding in fiction? Through the fact that, regardless of the linguistic relativity hypothesis, our environment influences our thought patterns.
It is unthinkable that a writer can create a realistic alternative world without examining the socio-cultural repercussions. Yet many do (perhaps being too enamored with plot).
And so, here is a list of short, easy-to-follow tips on how to worldbuild your novel. You can think of it as a checklist; start from the top, then continue.
A Checklist on Worldbuilding in Fiction
- Deal with the world itself first. Decide on such things as physics, scientific truths, and the environment. If you’re writing science fiction, pay attention to the first two elements. Fantasy allows a bit more latitude, but be ready to justify any rewriting of scientific laws.
- Deal with the evolutionary state of the society/inhabitants of this world. To an extent you can’t avoid some anthropocentrism. For example, it’s difficult not to gauge evolution in science fiction by whether, say, the beings of this world are capable of space flight. However, having started from step #1 first, you could ponder on how evolutionary state is measured in this particular world. Perhaps space flight is not important but, say, the ability to read minds is.
- Having figured out where the society of your novel is from an evolutionary development perspective (and what is the evolutionary path), the next step is the critical one. We’re entering the territory of idealistic worldbuilding now. In connection to the particular differences of your world, decide on such things as:
- Art. What is its status; is it visual? Aural? Something entirely different?
- Language. Is it linear (word-after-word) or multilayered (like sign language)? Are there metaphors? Poetry?
- Interpersonal relationships. Does the world in question affect, say, how couples meet and court? Is the very idea of a couple applicable, even?
- Politics.
- Warfare.
- Education.
- ….
- Ultimately, what does it mean to be an inhabitant of this world? You need to be able to place yourself in the position of such a being, and understand how they would perhaps think. Ponder on all the little differences from our world, and try to understand how they would affect a person’s thought process.
In Conclusion: It’s not about the What, but the How and Why
All this is hard work. Perhaps that’s why many authors simple bypass it or go through it superficially. No wonder, then, there’s so much bad genre fiction out there. Most authors want to start writing about their dragons, aliens, monsters, and how all these characters kill one another with lightning bolts or magic potions.
The thing is, all this reduces literature to entertainment. For many readers this is unfortunately fine, which only perpetuates the cycle.
But if you’re a fantasy or science-fiction author looking to make the leap from “just another story about [witches/aliens/demons/wizards]” to something intelligent and elaborate, something in fact talking about us humans by talking about something else, then be prepared to put in the hard work.
And if you’d like a bit of help with at least part of that hard work, take a look at my Fantasy Language Generator, that allows you to create a coherent fantasy language in a matter of seconds!
4 Comments
Comments are closed for posts older than 90 days
I have almost missed this article because it wasn’t posted on Goodreads. However, today I visited your blog because I wanted to find the George Orwell quote about writing and I found this article. Thanks, Chris, for writing it, it perfectly mirrors my own convictions about the importance of the social aspect of world building. This shoul be extremely helpful for writers (myself included) embarking on writing a science fiction novel. Thank you.
You’re welcome!
As a writer with autism when I read about even non fictionalized societies it seems unreal or perhaps contrast to how I view the world as a whole I don’t always understand why people have precondition responses to the world around them or understand where there motivation lies as I learn more about the world it actually feels more fake like everyone is acting and nothing is real but I also get alot of criticism for how my world’s feel flat or are lacking surface meaning I was wondering if the way my autism effects the way I view a society effects my writing in a negative way and if I can make my world’s more believable by adding in more of what I logically see as false human acting we currently have in out world I can’t imagine this is the only way to build a strong world for a reader to be drawn into are there any tips you can give me so that I can create a believable world but still keep to reality without making it feel cut and dry?
Thanks for your comment and your very interesting thoughts. I think the best tip I can give to any writer is this: Write from your heart, write about the things you see, the way *you* see them. If you see the world as fake and people as acting (and I’m with you on this one), then write this way.
In terms of the criticism you receive — i.e. that your worlds feel flat and lacking “surface meaning” — one reason (of course I’m only speculating) might be precisely that you’re holding back, even subconsciously. Don’t compromise for mildness and diluted solutions (no pun intended). Be brutal, relentless in the things you want to express. The worst thing a writer can do is to try and please their audience.
In writing (and so many other things) there never is an “only way” to do things. All the advice I offer on this blog is merely “one of many ways”. I don’t even claim it to be the “best way”, let alone the “only way”. And so, the key takeaway here could be this: Write in a way that makes sense to *you*, and write in a way that accentuates *your own* emotional response. We can’t control what our audience feels or thinks, but we can control what we do.